In an ancient Chinese legend, a group of fearless bandits called the Mountain Brothers reclaimed pilfered moneys from the greedy rich and returned them to the poor. Philadelphia's Mountain Brothers are renegades in their own right, riding the cutting edge of hip-hop. The trio of Chops, Styles and PeriL-L (a.k.a. Scott Jung, Steve Wei and Chris Wang) are also Ruffhouse records' newest local signing.

In Chops' home studio in West Philly, the three Mountain Brothers are listening back to their latest beats. The basement studio is filled with state-of-the-art recording equipment, courtesy of the Ruffhouse development deal. The trio has been working on material for months, preparing for the major label debut, due out next year.

The pristine order of the studio contrasts with the rest of Chops' home. With its comfortable mismatched couches and chairs, the living room almost looks like a set from Animal House. Relaxing in T-shirts and jeans, the trio takes a break from working and recalls the important role Penn State played in their formation.

Chops and Styles first met at Upper Dublin High School, where they performed a hip-hop parody for a school talent show. When Chops went off to Penn State, Styles hooked up with PeriL-L, a huge hip-hop fan with an impressive music collection. When PeriL-L went to Penn State, he looked up Chops. The next year, Styles matriculated and the three have been rhyming together ever since.

It wasn't long before The Mountain Brothers started playing gigs in State College, PA. Chops submitted his mix tapes for credit in his electronic music course ("I got A's."). By 1994, they were sending demos out to labels and getting a number of positive responses. Ruffhouse signed them in November 1996.

Two tracks from the upcoming album have already been released and are getting airplay. The music of "Paperchase" is smooth and soulful, gently punctuated by a steady pulse. Some of their work-in-progress takes inspiration from jazz melodies. A few new tunes stick close to hip-hop tradition and feature scratching and throbbing beats.

Chops acknowledges various influences and emphasizes the importance of the music in their tracks, which are all composed by him without samples.

"I think that our music is really something that's pretty new," boasts PeriL-L. It's a bold statement, but not completely off the mark.

The music isn't the only thing that makes The Mountain Brothers stand out. Their lyrics are clever and poignant. "One of the things we like to do is to play with rhyme structure and where we place words," explains Chops, "taking a whole line and rhyming it with the whole next line."

"Paperchase" displays their vocal acumen while shunning materialism and superficiality: "You got to know your friends and enemies/ and those who just pretend to be/ The ones that go, "Remember me?"/ with good old days and memories/ we never had together/ Friends in fair weather/ Yeah, whatever."

In addition to experimenting with complex rhyme structure, The Mountain Brothers' songs feature some memorable one-liners such as "You're seedy like pomegranates." In "Ain't Nuthin'," from the independent album they released last year, Chops raps: "Not with a noose and an apple tree/ you wouldn't have juice enough to hang with me."

"We just rap about things that are important to us or that we feel strongly about," says Styles. "We don't like to write about things that aren't true to us."

And part of that truth is being Chinese American in an industry where they're a distinct minority. One big-name executive raved about their music and then said, "There's only one problem: you're Asian." Another major label representative suggested they liven up their stage act with kung-fu kicks, chanting and gongs.

"I think [our race] affects other people more than it does us. We just make music and then people make assumptions, good and bad, because we're Asian," says Styles. Chops adds: "It's only one aspect of what we do. It's not like we have a whole album that's trying to get one message across."

It was their talent alone that won them the "Sprite Rhymes From the Mind" contest. Amateur Rap artists were asked to create a 60-second rap about the soft drink. After Power 99 selected The Mountain Brothers as the best Philadelphia entry, the group was flown to L.A. to be guests at the Soul Train Awards. When they were selected as the national winner in the spring of 1996, Sprite turned their rap into a national radio commercial. Plans are in the works to develop the radio spot into a television ad.

Much of 1997 has been devoted to recording Self in Chops' studio. Ruffhouse had all the masters in hand, when they were approached by KRS-1 who wanted to record a track with the trio. The Mountain Brothers are gearing up for a recording session with the hip-hop icon in Manhattan. They're also preparing themselves mentally for the long-awaited release of the album.

"I know Ruffhouse is a good label in terms of promotion; we just want people to hear it. If they like it that's up to them," says Styles confidently.

The group plans to stay based in Philly after the album's release. Here they can hone their style and talent independently of the current, often passing, musical fads of New York and Los Angeles.

"It's kind of better that we're not from New York or the West Coast, because we can be kind of isolated and just do our own thing and let our music develop and not be influenced by what other people are doing," says PeriL-L. Philadelphia's history also plays an important role in their musical influences. "Philly's always been a big music town, especially for black music," figures Chops.

The Mountain Brothers have stayed connected to the local scene by playing venues like Silk City and T.L.A. as well as underground hip-hop clubs and house parties. They plan to record with popular local acts such as The Man They Call Lux, Ital the Ruffian, Da Fat Cat Clique, EOUS and Grand Connection.

A tour is scheduled to support the release of Self. In the meantime, listen for "Paperchase" and "5 Elements" on local stations. You can check out audio clips on their funky Web site at www.netaxs.com/~ezekiel/complex/mountain.html. On it, they boast that their music is "rewind the shit over and over in your walkman" hip-hop. Not all bravado is exaggeration.

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